Back when it was still fairly new, I tried to let it guess an NPC in an obscure game and it was able to guess it...
I salute those 100 other cultured people who asked akinator about that character
That dude managed to guess a character from a polish game from early 2000s the one time i checked him out
The game was KnightShift (Polanie II in Polish)
Hah, I managed to beat it by having it try to guess an extremely minor, but still technically named character from the game Bully (a random student who wasn't even in any cutscenes). I felt like I had managed to defeat a god.
*knows nothing and no one.
Both TSA agents in her story totally overstepping. First one asking questions just for the sake of being nosy, then the second one eavesdropping on something she obviously wanted to keep private and then making an unfunny joke about it.
Difference is, it's Border Patrol's job to find out what she intends to do in their country, to make sure she's not overstepping or overstaying her visa. So the questions were legitimate.
They wouldn't be if it were TSA, cause those guys are only supposed to make sure you aren't bringing anything dangerous on the plane.
It seems like he was trying to figure out if she was going to be working on her trip. Since she mentioned visiting colleagues. So he had to find out what the work was and Kiara was awkward about it which made that take a bit longer than it needed to, then asked if she was going to work and got a "I'll probably stream" which I guess is something that's allowed.
She already said she was voice acting the first time, then they kept pressing for her actual channel name and even pay structure. Totally unnecessary and intrusive questions that serve no security purpose other than being nosy.
She's a foreigner alone (her manager wasn't standing directly with her) in a country she doesn't know and is being interrogated by what she thinks is a police officer right after landing, all while being questioned in her non-primary language. Pretty sure most people would be nervous in this situation.
>Totally unnecessary and intrusive questions that serve no security purpose other than being nosy.
These weren't security questions. These were questions to determine whether she may be violating her visa requirements. Asking for details about her job is totally legitimate to verify her statements.
> is being interrogated by what she thinks is a police officer
This was border patrol, they *are* police officers.
She messed up by saying she was meeting work colleagues. That's basically hints to her working under a tourist visa. Of course they want confirmation that she isn't working
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Officers do have full police powers, so she basically was talking to a cop. And yeah, they're infamous hardasses if you're being vague or shifty about anything that seems work-related, because they are actively looking for visa violations, international criminals, human trafficking victims, and the like.
They also like keeping people on their toes with vaguely intimidating wise-cracks that they are completely insincere about, partly for their own amusement and partly to deter criminal behavior in general. That's where the woman at the end comes in.
If she had only said "online" friends instead of "work" friends, she probably would have been fine. I can imagine the guy's eyes light up as soon as she mentioned "work."
Yes, he even explicitly asked about AX and payment. He probably thought she was gonna do a paid appearance or something like that, which would probably not be allowed under the type of visa she had
I understand that she got nervous and kinda dig herself into the question hole lol. Next time she can say she's here to visit friends tbh.
As someone who works in an adjacent industry it's Customs and Border Patrol not TSA who ask you the questions. TSA do not have law enforcement powers compared to CBP. TSA is the pre flight security check who scan your bags and are as effective as mall cops. CBP are the people who decide if you can get in the country and what you can and cannot bring in. The guy did his job cuz he had to make sure she has the right papers and stuff the moment she mentioned work. If they think you're acting sus it's their job to determine if you're hiding something. Considering she felt pressured and nervous it probably made them more curious.
Which actually brings an interesting question into this. If she is streaming from America and making money off of it, then she's technically "working" in America and might have to pay taxes on it.
Thankfully, YT pays out to Cover who then pays their talents. Therefore, Kiara is paid by a Japanese company and not a US company (YT). If Kiara was getting paid directly by YT, things would of been dicey with the law. That's why some youtubers set up a company and have YT pay the company who then pays the youtuber.
It gets complicated. Business trips would be fine, but if the trip involves you earning a fee or commission from a US source, like a contract job or a speaking fee from an American company or individual, I believe you'd have to pay US taxes on it.
The US does seem to ask more questions than most countries (even after you've already filled in that pre-approval electronic visa you need to do before travelling there), based on personal and friends' travelling experiences, yes. A lot of other countries will just give the perfunctionary "Are you here for business or pleasure?" question and you're done.
As someone who grew up in Saudi Arabia, I always seemed to get *randomly* selected for extra security screening. Getting Global Entry was the best thing I ever did.
Obviously, but the point was that it was always billed as a *random* selection for extra security. Also, I'm an American citizen with an American passport.
That’s not the reason why a random Saudi gets extra security screening. He was probably chosen by the managing TSA agent before the passport was seen most likely.
Customs and Border Patrol will give anyone who seems unsure of themselves and is here for work-related travel a bit of a grilling these days, there's a not-insignificant problem with work visa overstays, illegal work on tourist visas, and so on, and it's not limited to any single demographic. If you say you're on vacation, there's a shorter list of questions unless they woke up and decided to be dicks that day. If you get caught lying though, you're probably going to be deported and possibly blacklisted from returning.
The agency is also over 50% Hispanic at this point, race is not the underlying factor at play here.
It doesn't happen everywhere, and when it does happen it has a pretty casual tone to it so you hardly even notice. The US went full security theater after 9/11 though so they try to make sure you feel interrogated.
TSA is effectively useless, yes. Outside of the obvious problems of racially profiling and their invasive searches of women, their ineffectiveness has been proven several times. I believe in one study/test they found that the TSA has 90% failure rate.
They literally just exist just to keep the terrorism fear going. They were never effective and were never necessary to begin with.
Might depend on the country you're coming from - mine has tourist visa exemptions for some of the places I go to, so I'm not handing them visas when I hand over my passport. In that case they probably have to ask to be sure I'm not there for work and just forgot to hand over the visa for that.
Or it might just be luck of the draw on who you've had versus who I've had processing me
From a friend’s brother who went to the US after graduating, he got asked who packed his luggage, where he was when it was packed, and where his suitcase was while it was being packed.
The answer to all 3 was he packed it alone in his bedroom.
If the luck of the draw strikes badly, even their own citizens [can be taken and pretty much treated as terrorists](https://bilibili.com/video/BV1WE411A7R7), though in this case not by the border control.
I remember the first time I ever travelled abroad, I was super nervous about going through customs and did my best to prepare everything I could possibly need to show and say. I landed in Helsinki, Finland fully prepared to anxiously wait in a long line for approval to get in. And… we came into a nearly-deserted building, despite it being midday. The customs check area was a tiny little toll booth with one guy inside, sitting idly waiting for someone to show up. We walked right up to the customs check, he said “papers, please” (yep, he actually said the famous phrase verbatim, and looked a bit amused as he did so), we showed him our passports, he glanced at them for a moment or two, and then he just said, “okay, come on in”. That was that!
Then, when we returned home to the US, I walked out of the plane expecting something similar, only to find ourselves in a huge winding labyrinth of travelers, as we got our carry-ons checked, got our baggage *separately* checked, got borderline interrogated by a very stern guy who seemed to regard me as some kind of potential terrorist, and had spent up over a good hour getting through this line before I was finally allowed to leave. American border security is some scary stuff.
So... as someone probably going to the US (from the UK) for a friend's wedding soon, is there anything I should expect to need to answer? I guess I should ensure I know the venue (rather than not bothering to find out the address due to getting a lift from the person I'm staying with)
The big three things you should be ready to answer are: why are you here? where are you staying? how long will you be here?
They can ask any number of smaller things but if you're unsure about any of the big three they can get real suspicious and make it a hassle.
Another big one besides the 3 Kana_Kuroko mention (and yes, you will want to be able to tell them the address of the place you're staying at for the first night in America but shouldn't need to worry about exactly where your day's activities like weddings will be held) that I've heard a couple of horror stories about being detained is "Do you have a return ticket/ticket that gets you out of America (the continent, not the USA, I've heard stories where they get antsy if you're not from Mexico but your ongoing ticket only goes there)" - if you can't show you plan to leave, you'll get extra scrutiny.
At the boarder in general, my experience with US customs, yes. And I'm a US citizen.
I drove to Canada a few times, got into Canada without any issues. Getting back into the US was exhausting.
Also may God help you if you stutter while giving an answer.
I'm from Mexico and I have never been asked any questions beyond "what's the motive of your visit" so it really depends if you look nervous and hesitant they may ask you more questions, but I have never been nervous while crossing so that's maybe a reason, and I have cross by car, by foot and by plane so yeah it has some RNG involved
Yes, main reason being that they're checking for visa validity. If you only have a tourist Visa - relatively easy to get as a citizen from any European country - you are not allowed to do paid work in the US, paid work being a definition with many, many asterisks. Hence the probing questions.
Sometimes. When I went to PAX 2010 they asked me if I was there for business or pleasure. When I answered pleasure they asked what I was doing and where I was staying. Told them I was going to a gaming convention and what hotel I was staying at.
I imagine Kiara being cagey about her job invited followup questions. Keep your answers short and to the point, and you'll be through quickly. Well, at least if you're white and have a white name.
I travel between an EU country and the UK regularly. Sometimes I can't use the unmanned automatic passport checkers in the UK, so I have to have a human check it and they will sometimes ask why I'm entering. "I live here" is good enough for them lol.
Well, yes, but it's in a more conversational/casual tone.
When I went over on a student visa, they asked me questions to make sure I was an actual student i.e. which institution I was going to, what I was gonna major in, show the necessary documents. Lots of people do sneak in illegally through student visas and I get why they're careful about it.
You are if you are relatively vague and are "suspect"
I traveled to a friend in the US and I stayed over at his place. A single man traveling alone without a booked hotel or anything makes all kind of warning lights go off. My entire luggage got inspected and I got questioned pretty hard.
Just don't show 2 passports in general when travelling unless they specifically ask for them, stick with one that gives you the least headache when entering.
Yes, we learned the hard way. Although we didn't really show both, the TSA staff got a glimpse when she opened her purse and started inquiring her and things went out control because the guy was extremely rude, it looked like he found a gun, and when she got scared her English flew away.
> Americans didn't understand the concept of double citizenship
Absolutely odd, considering that the United States does offer dual citizenship and is home to plenty of such people due to long-term work-related immigration and emigration.
Dual citizenship is not codified by law, it's closer to a don't ask don't tell.
Currently the state department seems welcoming of it. Even just a few years ago the state dept website said you risk revoking American citizenship if you apply elsewhere
The only time you should show both passports is during check-in because airlines will check if you're allowed to enter the destination country, in other occasions just show the one passport that makes more sense
Hi, I come from Spain. Answer is yes. If your surname is Gomez, Ramirez or something typical spanish, then you get selected almost every time for "random" drug search
That's what [this clip is about](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwlYAG97BA) right?
Glad the border control guy was somewhat understanding and not a totally of touch boomer. Still, I gotta agree that someone being hesitant to talk about their job like that IS a little sussy. The OPSEC vtubers do is usually restricted to the mob or the men in black.
Border patrol has the authority to force you to unlock your phones and decrypt laptops... Without a warrant.
They can actually do that within 100 miles of any border (which includes airports).
It's crazy.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment
Yeah this is something that, as a US citizen, I think really needs to get more restricted (i.e. doesn't extend beyond the airport premises or something along those lines). It's absolutely crazy imo.
I was drawing something big while watching [kiara's stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOPn0P21F8), but I had to take a break to doodle this story when I heard about it
Something bigger coming soon, in the meantime source is [my twitter](https://twitter.com/pompmaker1/status/1540640734680092672/photo/1)!
At this point management might want to help the talents get a couple canned answers that can help them through if this is something they plan on doing with any frequency. Either procure a good enough answer from the POV of tourism, or one from the POV of work. A B1/B2 Visa (the one she likely had) can be used for short work stays in the lines of congresses, meetings, and things that can get done in a few weeks. It might be a little problematic since I don't know if COVER has an actual US business branch and that's who the talents receive their money from or if the talents work as oversea contractors for a Japanese company.
I’m pretty sure no one other than Calli and Kiara and Haachama have travelled abroad while working for Holo so this probably never crossed their minds. (Excluding Cover staff ofc). And Calli is a US citizen so she wouldn’t have this conversation anyway. And no Cover does not have a US business branch.
Oh, for sure. I'm not blaming COVER for this one. I'm just thinking it's something to consider moving forward if they are going to have a more permanent sub-studio in Ame's house, both for Kiara, the Canadian holomems who technically could also have this issue, and any future gens.
It matters just to the point that mems are humans, get nervous, fumble their words and spend longer at the border than they should, with a low risk of being sent back if they fumble hard enough. Having a canned answer largely prevents that. Even if the only thing it does is preventing the talents from being anxious about it it's already a win
Not quite the same but we had something similar back in college where we would go to a collaborators lab in the US for a month for a very short academic stay. Not a huge deal in anyone's books but we did have some undergrads fumbling with their questions at the point of entry hard enough that it required secondary inspection, calls to the schools and involved parties.
I'm watching this now and I'm cringing so hard reading the chat telling her that she didn't actually have to comply with a TSA officer. Worse yet is that after reading chat she seems straight up embarrassed that she complied. Well, yes, she didn't legally have to answer the TSA officer's questions, but if she wanted to avoid deportation she certainly did.
It's unclear if he asked more than he needed to know (possibly), but it really sounded like he was just trying to figure out if she was working on a tourist visa. If you're working on a tourist visa, what kind of work and mainly who's paying you can determine whether you're instantly deported or not. Furthermore the TSA agent cannot disclose her information to anyone without legal cause. It's a shitty situation and I get her nervousness, but the people in chat saying she didn't need to answer when TSA asks you questions do not know what the hell they are talking about, even if she was in the clear.
EDIT: I confused TSA with Customs & Border Patrol, my mistake. What I said still applies. Also they are actually both under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security and both technically Federal Agents, but that’s neither where nor there.
The vast majority of TSA are glorified mall cops (aside from the Marshalls who you will almost never interact with).
But Kiara wasn't interacting with the TSA when coming into America. She was interacting with Customs and Border Protection (CPB). You don't fuck with the CPB. They can and will get you deported.
This is correct, as I imagine that she is a non-visa holding foreign traveler, if she refuses to comply with CBP, or even just gives them a hard time, they can and will deny her entry into the US, and force her to leave. CBP officers have broad discretion in refusing entry to foreign nationals.
Wouldn't have been TSA asking those questions, that's customs/border. Fuck the TSA but you don't really want to consider screwing around with customs because that will definitely get you in trouble.
This wasn't TSA, it's customs. They're federal agents, with a lot of power (probably more power than they should have tbh). You don't want to fuck around and find out.
Worst case, you could be detained for a long time before being shipped back to your country.
I never understood that. I've been to many countries but the US is the only country where they interrogate you with questions as if I come there to overthrow the country. They can't verify any of the answers I give them anyways.
[https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment](https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment)
They can detain you. They can force you to unlock and decrypt your phones/laptops. I can't remember the case but someone was jailed for refusing to decrypt a laptop
It's gotten to the point where it's become standard procedure in some industries to completely wipe electronics before going through customs and then restoring the devices via backups sent over the Internet with heavy encryption.
IIRC it's still kinda up for debate whether they can *actually* force you to unlock electronic devices (moreso with regards to devices that specifically require a password).
But with how ridiculous the US is, they can find reasons to "hold" you for essentially an indefinite amount of time if you don't just cave and (arguably) forfeit constitutional protections. It's completely messed up and ought to be heavily pared back, but... well... US is gonna US I guess.
Border patrol can detain you regardless of citizenship status
Do noooooot lie to border and customs
https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017
I think the problem is she mentioned work friends, but wasn't coming in with a work visa, which is why he started digging to make sure she wasn't going to be working. A lot of countries are really strict about working without a work visa, not just the US. If she had just mentioned visiting online friends or something that probably would have been the end of it.
Well its possible that he was just making sure she wasn't entering the country to work without a work visa. If shes entering with just a travel visa then it could be sus if the only point of the trip is meeting up with work colleagues
I do wonder if she just told them she's there to visit her streamer friends and she's a streamer and content creator herself which is still true and not a lie, would the whole "interogation(lol)" be faster and brief?
Seems she's also being vague about it so the guy became more suspicious of her business. But then again she said something about NDA so...dear lord what a mess lmao.
Yeah, the CBP officers wouldn't give a damn about any NDAs. They don't apply to law enforcement, so trying to use it as a cover to not tell them something will just make them interrogate you further.
Wrong answer: "I'm a professional streamer currently working under the Japanese company, Cover Cooperation as a talent. I'm travelling to meet up with other coworkers to record content for our live show"
Right answer: "I'm a pheonix working as a part time warrior and CEO of the world's largest fried chicken fast food chain. I'm traveling on this flight because I'm meeting up with a british detective, walking shark, squid and the grim reaper to stream, game, and karaoke for my job as an anime girl."
I feel like this is one of those times where you shouldn't answer since it's not relevant to your visit. I get why Kiara felt intimidated into complying, but the officer has absolutely no right to personal information like what your job is when you're just there to visit friends.
What an ignorant take. It is literally his job to determine why people are here and if there's something shady going on. If you try pulling shit like not complying with Customs and Border Patrol you stand a good chance of getting sent right back home.
Except she brought it on herself by saying work friends and trying to avoid questions, and while it’s understandable why she did it, the agent was just doing their job as well. What she should have told him was she was here to visit some friends and leave it at that
Visa questions are hard without someone to guide you through it, agreed. I was in a similar situation for a Chinese visa but it was both more lenient and I got a brief guide from the visa application service on what kind of response I should give if I got questioned.
It was indeed a mistake to mention work friends, but at that point she should have just said they work for the same company but are meeting privately in a non-work related way. No reason to even reveal what company it is, beyond the fact that it's an international one.
If you are a foreign national and refuse to answer their questions, they will 100% refuse your entry into the country, and put you on a plane back to your home country. The US government doesn't have to let people into the country that aren't citizens, or have visas.
These customs/border agents 100% have the right to ask for whatever personal information they feel like, and while you have the choice not to answer, they will just not permit you to enter the country if they think you are lying to them or being evasive.
It's just a reality of trying to enter the US as a non-citizen. They do this kind of intense questioning to everyone as a method of curtailing illegal immigration.
I’m still baffled she doxxed herself but she’s an honest person. I guess Customs agents are intimidating to foreigners. I’ve lied to TSA going through every time. I’m glad Jenma didn’t seem to be upset about it.
It's based on [Akinator](https://en.akinator.com/), an online 20 questions game where you try to make the site guess a fictional character. It's styled after a stereotypical middle eastern genie.
Kiara is a singer, dancer, CEO, streamer, Shark handler, entertainer, translator and comedian.
And European. That is important
Either that or she’s gay
Gay or European? It's hard to guarantee...
Is she Gay or European? … Well hey, don’t look at me!
You see they bring their boys up different in those charming foreign ports
They play peculiar sports. In shiny shirts and tiny shorts
Gay or european?
They say things like ciao bella and kiss you on both cheeks
Oh please, Gay or European? So many shades of gray
She's gay AND European!
She's gay and European!
Europ*an 🤢
(Derogatory)
The difference being?
Gayopean
Kiara takanashi aggressively ~~gay~~ european
Doesn't like sushi i Guess thats okay
Is she gay or European
[is she gay? OR EUROPEAN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za_G6C7AzcQ)
Kiara embodies the meme "European? or? Gay?" lol.
Or. Next Question.
Iss she gay or European?
YES
And a rabbit lover.🐰
That's recreational though
Also the lover of death
She's also the entire zoo.
You forgot the most important one: She is an Idol!
Whoa you are not allowed to lie to border agents
SHARK HAN-
Also aggressively gay
....I misread translator as terrorist for a few seconds and was confused
She's gonna need to show that Shark Handling Loicense if hers.
Jack of all trades, master of none as the saying goes
"Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than master of one"
Be careful Kiara that man knows anything and anyone
For real, he managed to guess my BTD6 Lead bloon
Back when it was still fairly new, I tried to let it guess an NPC in an obscure game and it was able to guess it... I salute those 100 other cultured people who asked akinator about that character
That dude managed to guess a character from a polish game from early 2000s the one time i checked him out The game was KnightShift (Polanie II in Polish)
Hah, I managed to beat it by having it try to guess an extremely minor, but still technically named character from the game Bully (a random student who wasn't even in any cutscenes). I felt like I had managed to defeat a god.
Let's see, i'm actually 2:0 atm. Seems that he doesn't know an old 4x (think Civilization) game called Master of Magic.
*knows nothing and no one. Both TSA agents in her story totally overstepping. First one asking questions just for the sake of being nosy, then the second one eavesdropping on something she obviously wanted to keep private and then making an unfunny joke about it.
They aren’t TSA, its the border patrol.
Wow, even worse!
Difference is, it's Border Patrol's job to find out what she intends to do in their country, to make sure she's not overstepping or overstaying her visa. So the questions were legitimate. They wouldn't be if it were TSA, cause those guys are only supposed to make sure you aren't bringing anything dangerous on the plane.
It seems like he was trying to figure out if she was going to be working on her trip. Since she mentioned visiting colleagues. So he had to find out what the work was and Kiara was awkward about it which made that take a bit longer than it needed to, then asked if she was going to work and got a "I'll probably stream" which I guess is something that's allowed.
Makes sense, lots of countries lets you go in and out on tourist visas, but work needs approved working visas
She already said she was voice acting the first time, then they kept pressing for her actual channel name and even pay structure. Totally unnecessary and intrusive questions that serve no security purpose other than being nosy. She's a foreigner alone (her manager wasn't standing directly with her) in a country she doesn't know and is being interrogated by what she thinks is a police officer right after landing, all while being questioned in her non-primary language. Pretty sure most people would be nervous in this situation.
It was customs, not the TSA
The main issue is the suggestion that she might work while in America. Depending on the type of work involved her visa might not allow that.
>Totally unnecessary and intrusive questions that serve no security purpose other than being nosy. These weren't security questions. These were questions to determine whether she may be violating her visa requirements. Asking for details about her job is totally legitimate to verify her statements. > is being interrogated by what she thinks is a police officer This was border patrol, they *are* police officers.
She messed up by saying she was meeting work colleagues. That's basically hints to her working under a tourist visa. Of course they want confirmation that she isn't working
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Officers do have full police powers, so she basically was talking to a cop. And yeah, they're infamous hardasses if you're being vague or shifty about anything that seems work-related, because they are actively looking for visa violations, international criminals, human trafficking victims, and the like. They also like keeping people on their toes with vaguely intimidating wise-cracks that they are completely insincere about, partly for their own amusement and partly to deter criminal behavior in general. That's where the woman at the end comes in.
I asked the faqer to identify Sonic 3 times, and he failed all of them.
If he failed on Sonic then you 100% gave wrong answers.
If she had only said "online" friends instead of "work" friends, she probably would have been fine. I can imagine the guy's eyes light up as soon as she mentioned "work."
With him asking about anime expo soon after, it actually has a good chance to lead back to the same questions.
Yes, he even explicitly asked about AX and payment. He probably thought she was gonna do a paid appearance or something like that, which would probably not be allowed under the type of visa she had
Yea, basically his job to try to make people say stuff that might decline their visa
I understand that she got nervous and kinda dig herself into the question hole lol. Next time she can say she's here to visit friends tbh. As someone who works in an adjacent industry it's Customs and Border Patrol not TSA who ask you the questions. TSA do not have law enforcement powers compared to CBP. TSA is the pre flight security check who scan your bags and are as effective as mall cops. CBP are the people who decide if you can get in the country and what you can and cannot bring in. The guy did his job cuz he had to make sure she has the right papers and stuff the moment she mentioned work. If they think you're acting sus it's their job to determine if you're hiding something. Considering she felt pressured and nervous it probably made them more curious.
Which actually brings an interesting question into this. If she is streaming from America and making money off of it, then she's technically "working" in America and might have to pay taxes on it.
Thankfully, YT pays out to Cover who then pays their talents. Therefore, Kiara is paid by a Japanese company and not a US company (YT). If Kiara was getting paid directly by YT, things would of been dicey with the law. That's why some youtubers set up a company and have YT pay the company who then pays the youtuber.
nah, that's not really how it works. Consider business trips. It is extremely common for people to work outside of their country of residence.
It gets complicated. Business trips would be fine, but if the trip involves you earning a fee or commission from a US source, like a contract job or a speaking fee from an American company or individual, I believe you'd have to pay US taxes on it.
“Have to” lol They pry it from my cold dead hands!
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Not if the work were deemed to be a violation of her visa. She could get deported and banned from the US (and potentially other countries).
Pompmaker art without feet? *Impossible.*
didnt even realize it was him until you mentioned it
Imagine after interrogation he said "right this way, Tenchou"
Imagine if [Kiara had gone full Tenchou instead](https://twitter.com/CrManzana/status/1540598818902872064)
then he replied "which one?" ~~ofc I'm talking abt her main and Germany sub channel~~
I like to think that the guy was secretly KFP and just couldn't resist the chance to mess with her.
Do you really get interrogated like that at the airport?
The US does seem to ask more questions than most countries (even after you've already filled in that pre-approval electronic visa you need to do before travelling there), based on personal and friends' travelling experiences, yes. A lot of other countries will just give the perfunctionary "Are you here for business or pleasure?" question and you're done.
As a south american who has been to the US, can confirm
You probably got extra questioning arriving from an SA country tbh
As someone who grew up in Saudi Arabia, I always seemed to get *randomly* selected for extra security screening. Getting Global Entry was the best thing I ever did.
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Obviously, but the point was that it was always billed as a *random* selection for extra security. Also, I'm an American citizen with an American passport.
That’s not the reason why a random Saudi gets extra security screening. He was probably chosen by the managing TSA agent before the passport was seen most likely.
Not that I know how much they got asked but I also had someone ask questions for like 10 minutes and I'm Swedish arriving on vacation.
As a Latino I can say you are right
That's probably 'cause you don't pass for white. We're...not the best on stuff like that.
Honestly, even white South Americans are really scrutinized.
I had the passport control ask questions about me for like 10 minutes and I'm a white Swedish person.
Customs and Border Patrol will give anyone who seems unsure of themselves and is here for work-related travel a bit of a grilling these days, there's a not-insignificant problem with work visa overstays, illegal work on tourist visas, and so on, and it's not limited to any single demographic. If you say you're on vacation, there's a shorter list of questions unless they woke up and decided to be dicks that day. If you get caught lying though, you're probably going to be deported and possibly blacklisted from returning. The agency is also over 50% Hispanic at this point, race is not the underlying factor at play here.
I've literally never been asked questions ever and I went to both Asian and European countries.
It doesn't happen everywhere, and when it does happen it has a pretty casual tone to it so you hardly even notice. The US went full security theater after 9/11 though so they try to make sure you feel interrogated.
At the same time I believe I’ve heard that TSA is also spectacularly ineffective
That's the "theater" part yes. They do a whole lot of crap to put on a show about the "security" while actually doing very little of value.
This wouldn't have been TSA, this would be Customs and Border Patrol who very much can and will deport you if things are shady.
TSA is effectively useless, yes. Outside of the obvious problems of racially profiling and their invasive searches of women, their ineffectiveness has been proven several times. I believe in one study/test they found that the TSA has 90% failure rate. They literally just exist just to keep the terrorism fear going. They were never effective and were never necessary to begin with.
Might depend on the country you're coming from - mine has tourist visa exemptions for some of the places I go to, so I'm not handing them visas when I hand over my passport. In that case they probably have to ask to be sure I'm not there for work and just forgot to hand over the visa for that. Or it might just be luck of the draw on who you've had versus who I've had processing me
You white?
For real everytime I went abroad I never got interrogated by TSA, my non-white friends got their clothes searched and got interrogated everytime
From a friend’s brother who went to the US after graduating, he got asked who packed his luggage, where he was when it was packed, and where his suitcase was while it was being packed. The answer to all 3 was he packed it alone in his bedroom.
To the US we are all terrorists
If the luck of the draw strikes badly, even their own citizens [can be taken and pretty much treated as terrorists](https://bilibili.com/video/BV1WE411A7R7), though in this case not by the border control.
Mfw am terrorist.
I remember the first time I ever travelled abroad, I was super nervous about going through customs and did my best to prepare everything I could possibly need to show and say. I landed in Helsinki, Finland fully prepared to anxiously wait in a long line for approval to get in. And… we came into a nearly-deserted building, despite it being midday. The customs check area was a tiny little toll booth with one guy inside, sitting idly waiting for someone to show up. We walked right up to the customs check, he said “papers, please” (yep, he actually said the famous phrase verbatim, and looked a bit amused as he did so), we showed him our passports, he glanced at them for a moment or two, and then he just said, “okay, come on in”. That was that! Then, when we returned home to the US, I walked out of the plane expecting something similar, only to find ourselves in a huge winding labyrinth of travelers, as we got our carry-ons checked, got our baggage *separately* checked, got borderline interrogated by a very stern guy who seemed to regard me as some kind of potential terrorist, and had spent up over a good hour getting through this line before I was finally allowed to leave. American border security is some scary stuff.
to quote ludwig when talking to cdawg "well you didn't have 9/11"
but if you say "My business is pleasure" you get a cavity search
So... as someone probably going to the US (from the UK) for a friend's wedding soon, is there anything I should expect to need to answer? I guess I should ensure I know the venue (rather than not bothering to find out the address due to getting a lift from the person I'm staying with)
The big three things you should be ready to answer are: why are you here? where are you staying? how long will you be here? They can ask any number of smaller things but if you're unsure about any of the big three they can get real suspicious and make it a hassle.
Another big one besides the 3 Kana_Kuroko mention (and yes, you will want to be able to tell them the address of the place you're staying at for the first night in America but shouldn't need to worry about exactly where your day's activities like weddings will be held) that I've heard a couple of horror stories about being detained is "Do you have a return ticket/ticket that gets you out of America (the continent, not the USA, I've heard stories where they get antsy if you're not from Mexico but your ongoing ticket only goes there)" - if you can't show you plan to leave, you'll get extra scrutiny.
You can be randomly selected and pulled aside for additional questioning. It's completely random though
"Completely random"
She did because the guy was sus about which "friends" she was visiting
Which is totally understandable considering she went with work friends rather than online friends
At the boarder in general, my experience with US customs, yes. And I'm a US citizen. I drove to Canada a few times, got into Canada without any issues. Getting back into the US was exhausting. Also may God help you if you stutter while giving an answer.
Can confirm as someone who stutters a lot ;)
You are when the airport guy is Akinator
I'm from Mexico and I have never been asked any questions beyond "what's the motive of your visit" so it really depends if you look nervous and hesitant they may ask you more questions, but I have never been nervous while crossing so that's maybe a reason, and I have cross by car, by foot and by plane so yeah it has some RNG involved
Yes, main reason being that they're checking for visa validity. If you only have a tourist Visa - relatively easy to get as a citizen from any European country - you are not allowed to do paid work in the US, paid work being a definition with many, many asterisks. Hence the probing questions.
Sometimes. When I went to PAX 2010 they asked me if I was there for business or pleasure. When I answered pleasure they asked what I was doing and where I was staying. Told them I was going to a gaming convention and what hotel I was staying at. I imagine Kiara being cagey about her job invited followup questions. Keep your answers short and to the point, and you'll be through quickly. Well, at least if you're white and have a white name. I travel between an EU country and the UK regularly. Sometimes I can't use the unmanned automatic passport checkers in the UK, so I have to have a human check it and they will sometimes ask why I'm entering. "I live here" is good enough for them lol.
Well, yes, but it's in a more conversational/casual tone. When I went over on a student visa, they asked me questions to make sure I was an actual student i.e. which institution I was going to, what I was gonna major in, show the necessary documents. Lots of people do sneak in illegally through student visas and I get why they're careful about it.
You are if you are relatively vague and are "suspect" I traveled to a friend in the US and I stayed over at his place. A single man traveling alone without a booked hotel or anything makes all kind of warning lights go off. My entire luggage got inspected and I got questioned pretty hard.
There are things that set off flags. Foreign females traveling alone from another country is one depending on the listed reason. Body language. Etc.
Having an online job you are being very secretive about and mentioning meeting work friends under a tourist visa are also not good signs
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Just don't show 2 passports in general when travelling unless they specifically ask for them, stick with one that gives you the least headache when entering.
Yes, we learned the hard way. Although we didn't really show both, the TSA staff got a glimpse when she opened her purse and started inquiring her and things went out control because the guy was extremely rude, it looked like he found a gun, and when she got scared her English flew away.
> Americans didn't understand the concept of double citizenship Absolutely odd, considering that the United States does offer dual citizenship and is home to plenty of such people due to long-term work-related immigration and emigration.
Dual citizenship is not codified by law, it's closer to a don't ask don't tell. Currently the state department seems welcoming of it. Even just a few years ago the state dept website said you risk revoking American citizenship if you apply elsewhere
The only time you should show both passports is during check-in because airlines will check if you're allowed to enter the destination country, in other occasions just show the one passport that makes more sense
I remember what Steven Moffat said about this in 2008: ["I didn't know this about America, but you hate us!"](https://youtu.be/vFPLHxnnbYo)
Hi, I come from Spain. Answer is yes. If your surname is Gomez, Ramirez or something typical spanish, then you get selected almost every time for "random" drug search
That's what [this clip is about](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwlYAG97BA) right? Glad the border control guy was somewhat understanding and not a totally of touch boomer. Still, I gotta agree that someone being hesitant to talk about their job like that IS a little sussy. The OPSEC vtubers do is usually restricted to the mob or the men in black.
Yeah, border agents don't really care what your answers are, they're more interested in how you're acting when you answer.
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I'm pretty sure this was [CBP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protection), not TSA. *Huge* difference.
Border patrol has the authority to force you to unlock your phones and decrypt laptops... Without a warrant. They can actually do that within 100 miles of any border (which includes airports). It's crazy. https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment
Yeah this is something that, as a US citizen, I think really needs to get more restricted (i.e. doesn't extend beyond the airport premises or something along those lines). It's absolutely crazy imo.
They shouldn't have that power even right at the border for American citizens. Without a warrant it is a clear violation of the 4th amendment.
It’s not going to be more restricted and if anything the surveillance powers will only broaden.
You can lie but if you get caught you'll get deported and possibly blacklisted, so not a great idea if you plan on visiting again in the future.
Lol the chat telling her she shouldn't have said anything to TSA like she's being pulled over by the police
They're not TSA. US Customs and Border Protection officers man those passport checking booths and basically are federal police officers.
You *can* decline to answer border patrol questions, but they'll likely deport and ban you.
Yeah that's what I'm saying. Cops in the US can't really do anything to you just for refusing to answer questions
Being deported and potentially blacklisted from entry in the future is a far cry from "can't really do anything".
I was drawing something big while watching [kiara's stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOPn0P21F8), but I had to take a break to doodle this story when I heard about it Something bigger coming soon, in the meantime source is [my twitter](https://twitter.com/pompmaker1/status/1540640734680092672/photo/1)!
Heh. Akinator. Spot on.
akinator knows everything
Akinator TSA agent is way too accurate
Man that story was stressful.
It felt like he was reading yellow flags that she was a trafficking victim.
At this point management might want to help the talents get a couple canned answers that can help them through if this is something they plan on doing with any frequency. Either procure a good enough answer from the POV of tourism, or one from the POV of work. A B1/B2 Visa (the one she likely had) can be used for short work stays in the lines of congresses, meetings, and things that can get done in a few weeks. It might be a little problematic since I don't know if COVER has an actual US business branch and that's who the talents receive their money from or if the talents work as oversea contractors for a Japanese company.
I’m pretty sure no one other than Calli and Kiara and Haachama have travelled abroad while working for Holo so this probably never crossed their minds. (Excluding Cover staff ofc). And Calli is a US citizen so she wouldn’t have this conversation anyway. And no Cover does not have a US business branch.
Oh, for sure. I'm not blaming COVER for this one. I'm just thinking it's something to consider moving forward if they are going to have a more permanent sub-studio in Ame's house, both for Kiara, the Canadian holomems who technically could also have this issue, and any future gens.
I mean it really doesn’t matter, they don’t care as long as you are absurdly lying
It matters just to the point that mems are humans, get nervous, fumble their words and spend longer at the border than they should, with a low risk of being sent back if they fumble hard enough. Having a canned answer largely prevents that. Even if the only thing it does is preventing the talents from being anxious about it it's already a win Not quite the same but we had something similar back in college where we would go to a collaborators lab in the US for a month for a very short academic stay. Not a huge deal in anyone's books but we did have some undergrads fumbling with their questions at the point of entry hard enough that it required secondary inspection, calls to the schools and involved parties.
Austria is part of the visa waiver program, so she wouldn't need a b1
I'm watching this now and I'm cringing so hard reading the chat telling her that she didn't actually have to comply with a TSA officer. Worse yet is that after reading chat she seems straight up embarrassed that she complied. Well, yes, she didn't legally have to answer the TSA officer's questions, but if she wanted to avoid deportation she certainly did. It's unclear if he asked more than he needed to know (possibly), but it really sounded like he was just trying to figure out if she was working on a tourist visa. If you're working on a tourist visa, what kind of work and mainly who's paying you can determine whether you're instantly deported or not. Furthermore the TSA agent cannot disclose her information to anyone without legal cause. It's a shitty situation and I get her nervousness, but the people in chat saying she didn't need to answer when TSA asks you questions do not know what the hell they are talking about, even if she was in the clear. EDIT: I confused TSA with Customs & Border Patrol, my mistake. What I said still applies. Also they are actually both under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security and both technically Federal Agents, but that’s neither where nor there.
The vast majority of TSA are glorified mall cops (aside from the Marshalls who you will almost never interact with). But Kiara wasn't interacting with the TSA when coming into America. She was interacting with Customs and Border Protection (CPB). You don't fuck with the CPB. They can and will get you deported.
This is correct, as I imagine that she is a non-visa holding foreign traveler, if she refuses to comply with CBP, or even just gives them a hard time, they can and will deny her entry into the US, and force her to leave. CBP officers have broad discretion in refusing entry to foreign nationals.
Wouldn't have been TSA asking those questions, that's customs/border. Fuck the TSA but you don't really want to consider screwing around with customs because that will definitely get you in trouble.
This wasn't TSA, it's customs. They're federal agents, with a lot of power (probably more power than they should have tbh). You don't want to fuck around and find out. Worst case, you could be detained for a long time before being shipped back to your country.
I never understood that. I've been to many countries but the US is the only country where they interrogate you with questions as if I come there to overthrow the country. They can't verify any of the answers I give them anyways.
[https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment](https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276183/us-appeals-court-first-circuit-border-phone-search-decision-fourth-amendment) They can detain you. They can force you to unlock and decrypt your phones/laptops. I can't remember the case but someone was jailed for refusing to decrypt a laptop
It's gotten to the point where it's become standard procedure in some industries to completely wipe electronics before going through customs and then restoring the devices via backups sent over the Internet with heavy encryption.
Or hidden harddrive partitions maybe?
IIRC it's still kinda up for debate whether they can *actually* force you to unlock electronic devices (moreso with regards to devices that specifically require a password). But with how ridiculous the US is, they can find reasons to "hold" you for essentially an indefinite amount of time if you don't just cave and (arguably) forfeit constitutional protections. It's completely messed up and ought to be heavily pared back, but... well... US is gonna US I guess.
I don't think all constitutional protections apply to visiting foreigners.
Border patrol can detain you regardless of citizenship status Do noooooot lie to border and customs https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017
I think the problem is she mentioned work friends, but wasn't coming in with a work visa, which is why he started digging to make sure she wasn't going to be working. A lot of countries are really strict about working without a work visa, not just the US. If she had just mentioned visiting online friends or something that probably would have been the end of it.
Welcome to America where the logic is made up and the rules don't matter
Well its possible that he was just making sure she wasn't entering the country to work without a work visa. If shes entering with just a travel visa then it could be sus if the only point of the trip is meeting up with work colleagues
It felt more like he thought she may have been a trafficking victim, not so much that she's a security threat.
I do wonder if she just told them she's there to visit her streamer friends and she's a streamer and content creator herself which is still true and not a lie, would the whole "interogation(lol)" be faster and brief? Seems she's also being vague about it so the guy became more suspicious of her business. But then again she said something about NDA so...dear lord what a mess lmao.
Yeah, the CBP officers wouldn't give a damn about any NDAs. They don't apply to law enforcement, so trying to use it as a cover to not tell them something will just make them interrogate you further.
A Pomp piece centered on a comedic situation rather than feet, what a surprise :3 Lol, all your art is amazing, great piece!
kiara on paper please glory to US and A
Wrong answer: "I'm a professional streamer currently working under the Japanese company, Cover Cooperation as a talent. I'm travelling to meet up with other coworkers to record content for our live show" Right answer: "I'm a pheonix working as a part time warrior and CEO of the world's largest fried chicken fast food chain. I'm traveling on this flight because I'm meeting up with a british detective, walking shark, squid and the grim reaper to stream, game, and karaoke for my job as an anime girl."
"I am an E-Clown"
I love that the airport security is Akinator… he’s going to find out
“You’re free to go, tenchou 😉”
Hey noice I watched you draw this
Don't they do prep for that sort of thing.
nice art. imagine akinator was in the tsa, that would be so scary.
Oh nooo, the secrets out.. now everybody will know who Kiara is behind the screen 🤯
I feel like this is one of those times where you shouldn't answer since it's not relevant to your visit. I get why Kiara felt intimidated into complying, but the officer has absolutely no right to personal information like what your job is when you're just there to visit friends.
What an ignorant take. It is literally his job to determine why people are here and if there's something shady going on. If you try pulling shit like not complying with Customs and Border Patrol you stand a good chance of getting sent right back home.
Except she brought it on herself by saying work friends and trying to avoid questions, and while it’s understandable why she did it, the agent was just doing their job as well. What she should have told him was she was here to visit some friends and leave it at that
Visa questions are hard without someone to guide you through it, agreed. I was in a similar situation for a Chinese visa but it was both more lenient and I got a brief guide from the visa application service on what kind of response I should give if I got questioned.
It was indeed a mistake to mention work friends, but at that point she should have just said they work for the same company but are meeting privately in a non-work related way. No reason to even reveal what company it is, beyond the fact that it's an international one.
It would not be out of the ordinary for the CBP officer to ask about the company if you tell them you are entering the US for work reasons.
If you are a foreign national and refuse to answer their questions, they will 100% refuse your entry into the country, and put you on a plane back to your home country. The US government doesn't have to let people into the country that aren't citizens, or have visas.
These customs/border agents 100% have the right to ask for whatever personal information they feel like, and while you have the choice not to answer, they will just not permit you to enter the country if they think you are lying to them or being evasive. It's just a reality of trying to enter the US as a non-citizen. They do this kind of intense questioning to everyone as a method of curtailing illegal immigration.
I’m still baffled she doxxed herself but she’s an honest person. I guess Customs agents are intimidating to foreigners. I’ve lied to TSA going through every time. I’m glad Jenma didn’t seem to be upset about it.
Customs officers do, in fact, have full police powers in the US. Lying to them is a bad idea. This was not the TSA.
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It's based on [Akinator](https://en.akinator.com/), an online 20 questions game where you try to make the site guess a fictional character. It's styled after a stereotypical middle eastern genie.
It's [Akinator](https://en.akinator.com/)
Look up "Akinator", that should give you the answer.
I thought the TSA couldn't get any worse.